Technical Artist
Summary
A Technical Artist at Blackbird Interactive collaborates with designers and programmers to integrate art assets into Unreal Engine 5 for a third-person action shooter, optimizing performance and building tools for artists.
Blackbird Interactive is seeking a passionate Technical Artist to join our team on an upcoming Third Person Action Shooter.
Do you want to build stylish and compelling interactive experiences? Do you love collaborating with designers, artists, and programmers to create ambitious in-game content that is both beautiful and performant in Unreal Engine 5? If so, we’d love to hear from you!
At BBI, we’re a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio where top talent can grow their careers while working on both world-class IPs and original creations across multiple genres. You’ll join a fast-moving team developing a Third Person Action Shooter.
We support remote and hybrid working arrangements across Canada (Vancouver, BC). At BBI, you’ll find a flexible, forward-thinking environment where creative voices are valued and nurtured.
Responsibilities
-
Act as a bridge between Art, Engineering, and the game engine, helping teams communicate effectively and solve cross-disciplinary problems
-
Support artists with art-to-engine integration, including setup, debugging, and optimization of assets and systems, as well as housekeeping and naming conventions
-
Design, build, and maintain tools, scripts, and workflows that improve artist productivity and content quality
-
Collaborate with artists on animation, modeling, texturing, shaders, FX, Destruction and other real-time content disciplines
-
Help identify visual or performance issues and devise high-quality solutions within technical constraints
-
Contribute to the development and maintenance of art pipelines and production processes
-
Generate clear, concise documentation for tools, workflows, and pipelines
-
Take ownership of technical challenges, work with minimal supervision, and proactively propose improvements
Requirements
-
At least 2 years of experience with Unreal Engine as a TA
-
Strong understanding of real-time content development and game art pipelines
-
Technical proficiency across one or more art disciplines (eg. animation, modeling, texturing, FX) with a solid grasp of how they interact in-engine
-
Experience supporting or developing production tools and workflows
-
Some programming or scripting experience (eg. C++, C#, Python, or similar)
-
Understanding of asset management and version control practices
-
Familiarity with animation rigs and game animation systems
-
Experience working with DCC tools such as Maya
-
Strong problem-solving skills, curiosity, and a collaborative mindset
Pluses
-
Understanding of shader development and material systems
-
Experience with particle systems and real-time visual effects
-
Knowledge of performance profiling and optimization for real-time content
- Experience with real-time destruction systems like Unreal Chaos
-
Experience with Perforce (P4V)